Luigi, Trains and Bubblegum Ice Cream

Mario and Luigi have struck again, obviously. We are 20 hours into "Bowser's Inside Story", but at least I can report that it took us about two months to get there; so it's not like you are spending a ton of time on it. If anybody is spending too much time on it, it's me. You usually play it while I'm sweating my tail off on the treadmill and then move onto other things when we get home. I don't know why I feel the need to explain this, except that it's entirely possible that I have a guilty conscience because I KNOW that I've let you spend too much time on multimedia type things recently. I am sure your teachers, and the experts, would not approve. That's why we had a spontaneous picnic the weekend before last. It was a glorious day, the weather was perfect, and that railroad park was calling our name. We ate on the grass under the shade of a tree, and then we had ice cream (bubblegum for you, because childhood isn't childhood without bubblegum ice cream), took a ride on the train and marvelled at the model train club's miniature worlds. It was breezy and sunny and for a few hours, we forgot what Arizona summer's are like. We spent a lot more time at that park when we lived closer, and you were never quite into all that train-y stuff. I bought you tons of wooden Thomas stuff, you even have a real model train collection that grandma started for you, but your interest was passing at best.

And then we went to the train park after a long absence and your interest is no longer just passing. You marvelled at those miniature worlds right alongside me, noticing the tiny details like the scuba diver and suckling piglets (separate scenes, of course) and grandma got excited at the opportunity to add to your model train collection this Christmas.

It was so much more satisfying than a day at home playing Bowser's Inside Story and cleaning.

But this is Arizona, and last weekend we were back up into the 90's and my move motivation was at an all time low, so what did we do? Played too much Nintendo, that's what.

Love,

Your cool (because I ROCK at video games) Mom